Ray Luv performed with Tupac Shakur in the group Strictly Dope. Early in his career, Luv was signed to the independent labels Strictly Business and Young Black Brotha. Raised in West Ninth Street in Santa Rosa California.Ray Luv has stated that he got his name from Tupac Shakur, and that his original name was MC ROC. His first album Who Can Be Trusted was released in 1993 by Mac Dre's record label Strictly Business. "Get Your Money On" from Trusted was popular on local radio at the time. Forever Hustlin', released in 1995 by Atlantic Records through the Bay Area label Young Black Brotha run by Khayree, was his major label debut; it reached #39 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. That same year, Luv was featured on the soundtrack to the film New Jersey Drive. In 1997, Luv contributed to the Bay Area rap compilation Khayree Brings You the Blackalation from the Young Black Brotha label. Ray Luv, a native of the South Park district of Santa Rosa, California came on the scene of San Francisco Bay Area rap with his 1992 single "Get Ma Money On!" off his "Who Can Be Trusted?" EP. One of the producers of the album was the Khayree. Ray Luv formed a rap group named Strictly Dope with 2Pac in the late 80s. In 1995, he released "Forever Hustlin," which put him on the map locally. Ray Luv was part of the rap scene that grew out of Vallejo, California during the 1990s. Acts such as Mac Mall, Dubee Aka Sugawolf, E-40, Mac Dre, Young Lay and others put Vallejo's rap scene on the map during the 1990s. San Francisco based radio station 106.1 FM KMEL helped these acts get (locally) famous by giving them much deserved air time. Ray Luv is also a part of the group Link Crew, The. Hyphy is a slang word created by Bay Area Rapper Keak Da Sneak which is used in the San Francisco Bay Area that means "rambunctious". Hip-hop artist E-40, with his 2006 single titled "Tell Me When to Go", along with many other Bay Area music productions, put the Bay Area culture on the national map, and this culture began to be known as the Hyphy movement. The movement started in the '90s rappers but re-emerged in the early 2000s as a response from Bay Area rappers to commercial hip hop's ignoring of the Bay's influence. Although the "hyphy movement" has just recently seen light in mainstream America, it has been a long standing and evolving culture in the Bay Area. Bay Area rapper Keak Da Sneak was the first to use the term on an album. An individual is said to "get hyphy" when they act or dance in an overstated, fast paced, and ridiculous manner. Those who consider themselves part of the Hyphy movement would describe this behavior as "getting stupid" or "going dumb." In contrast to much of popular American culture where these phrases would be considered negative or even insulting, Hyphy is distinguished by taking this kind of behavior as a form of pride. West Coast hip hop is a style of hip hop music that originated in California in the early 1980s. It has since grown into a sub-genre of hip hop and has developed several creative centers. The controversial 1988 album Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A prompted a letter from the FBI in 1989. Copyright 2009, PTBTV Records, Pushin' The Bay. Website by Shaun Tai (hire@shauntai.com) for SHAUN TAI Media, SHAUN TAI Films, and ZTY MEDIA.